Frequent aggression and attribution of hostile intent in people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities: an empirical investigation. 2006

Andrew Jahoda, and Carol Pert, and Peter Trower
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom. Aj26r@clinmed.glad.ac.uk

We investigated whether aggressive individuals have an attributional bias of hostile intent compared to nonaggressive peers. We compared 43 frequently aggressive individuals who had mild to moderate intellectual disabilities with 46 nonaggressive controls on an attributional task. The aggressive participants attributed significantly more hostile intent to protagonists and indicated that they would respond more aggressively than did the controls to provocative scenes, but only when the threat was to themselves. Results suggest that differences in attribution of threat to self play a role in frequent aggression. These differences appear to be due, in part, to a positive bias of the nonaggressive participants on the self-referent scenes. Clinically, results highlight the importance of assessing and addressing aggressive individuals' interpersonal perceptions.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007092 Imagination A new pattern of perceptual or ideational material derived from past experience. Imaginations
D007398 Interpersonal Relations The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons. Social Relationships,Husband-Wife Communication,Partner Communication,Communication, Husband-Wife,Communication, Partner,Husband Wife Communication,Husband-Wife Communications,Interpersonal Relation,Partner Communications,Relation, Interpersonal,Relationship, Social,Social Relationship
D008297 Male Males
D008607 Intellectual Disability Subnormal intellectual functioning which originates during the developmental period. This has multiple potential etiologies, including genetic defects and perinatal insults. Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores are commonly used to determine whether an individual has an intellectual disability. IQ scores between 70 and 79 are in the borderline range. Scores below 67 are in the disabled range. (from Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1992, Ch55, p28) Disability, Intellectual,Idiocy,Mental Retardation,Retardation, Mental,Deficiency, Mental,Intellectual Development Disorder,Mental Deficiency,Mental Retardation, Psychosocial,Deficiencies, Mental,Development Disorder, Intellectual,Development Disorders, Intellectual,Disabilities, Intellectual,Disorder, Intellectual Development,Disorders, Intellectual Development,Intellectual Development Disorders,Intellectual Disabilities,Mental Deficiencies,Mental Retardations, Psychosocial,Psychosocial Mental Retardation,Psychosocial Mental Retardations,Retardation, Psychosocial Mental,Retardations, Psychosocial Mental
D011336 Probability The study of chance processes or the relative frequency characterizing a chance process. Probabilities
D003220 Conflict, Psychological The internal individual struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, or external and internal demands. In group interactions, competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons). (from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed) Conflict, Psychology,Psychological Conflict,Psychological Conflicts
D004644 Emotions Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties. Feelings,Regret,Emotion,Feeling,Regrets
D005260 Female Females
D006791 Hostility Tendency to feel anger toward and to seek to inflict harm upon a person or group. Hostilities
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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